Drivers who cause death while speeding, racing or using a mobile phone face the same sentences as people who have committed manslaughter. Offenders who kill after drinking or taking drugs could also face life.

It’s a welcome crackdown.

Although death on Britain’s roads has fallen in recent years, even one casualty is too many.

There will be accidents. It’s a fact of life. But the cases the Government are talking about are not accidents. They are brutal acts that see families plunged into years of suffering.

They don’t just go through the pain of losing someone – they watch as the person who killed them gets a light sentence. Their loved one will never walk the streets again. But their killer will.

The average jail sentence for a driver who has killed someone is four years. That’s not enough.

We all know prisons are overcrowded and there is pressure on the courts not to lock people up. But these are serious crimes.